.1877.] REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 43 



Gentleman, narrates his troubles: — "The Birds are the great destroyers 

 " of small fruits. They take a part of our best Strawberries, they have 

 " nearly swept the Gooseberries, and they have not permitted us to pick 

 " a single ripe Blaekberr}' in three rovrs of bushes. The Grapes are yet 

 " to take their chance. The Curraut-worm is the only insect worth nam- 

 " ing that touches our small fruits, and is effectually destroyed with very 

 " little labor. It is difficult to say what we shall do with the Robins. We 

 " would rather meet all the insect enemies of fruit, (leaving out the Ap- 

 " pie and Pear,) than the single species known as Mei'ula Migratoria. 

 "Destructive Insects and Destructive Birds have both increased together, 

 " and without great vigilance the fruit has a hard time of it." 

 But says Tityrus, as he lounges idly 



Sub teg mine fagi. 

 you have the Sparrow and need not care for the lack of relish for Insects 

 manifested by the migratorii — whether Merula or Turclus. Truly we have 

 the Sparrow — no thanks to those who introduced him from the " effete 

 despotisms !" And what his character may be, amoug those who have 

 had him longer and know him only too well, is thus pithily described in 

 the Gardener's Chronicle : — 



" A few months ago we reproduced some remarks from the Bulletin of 

 ' the French Acclimatization Society respecting the ' Eavages Commit- 

 ' TED BY Spabrows IN ALGERIA,' where, it appears, they are exces- 

 ' sively numerous. ISTevertheless, it is illegal to destroy them, and they 

 ' go on increasing at an alarming rate. In a recent number of the publi- 

 ' cation already named there is another letter on this subject, urging the 

 ' necessity of authorizing and even encouraging the destruction of these 

 ' voracious and prolific birds. Wherever there are woods or plantations 

 ' of trees, there the Sparrows assemble in incredible numbers. One 

 ' writer goes so far as to deplore the introduction of gum trees [Eucalypti 

 ' E. w. L.], because they harbor the Sparrows, and it is difficult to dislodge 

 ' their nests from those slender, lofty trees. Now, it is stated that on one 

 ' estate alone 200 acres of Rye were so completely devoured by the Spar- 

 ' rows before it was ripe that not a single corn was harvested ; and it was 

 ' calculated that in a neighboring wood, some 150 acres in extent, there 

 ' were 284,000 nests. One colonist complained that the Sparrows had 

 ' carried away 2 tons of his hay ; and from the average weight of the 

 ' nests weighed it was estimated that 10 tons of hay were carried away to 

 ' construct these 28I:,000 nests. Further, it is asserted that this same 

 ' wood which consists mainly of the Aleppo Pine, is annually infested 

 ' with Caterpillars to such an extent that it is dangerous to go through it 

 * in the months of March and April, because the Pine Caterpillar is ven- 

 ' omous." 



